No Hate in Huron group to host first-ever event in Nov. 23 cabaret

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

Next Saturday, the newly-formed No Hate in Huron group will host its first-ever event: a day-long event at the Goderich Legion called the Community Cabaret 4 Caring and Camaraderie.

 

Patrick Corvyn, the founder of No Hate in Huron, and Amber Walker-Bolton, another of the group’s volunteers, joined The Citizen for a chat last week, as well as a stroll down the Blyth Greenway Trail, to discuss the organization, its purpose and why it’s necessary in these divided days, and the cabaret.

 

The cabaret in question is a pay-what-you-can marathon that begins at noon on Nov. 23 at the Goderich Legion and will run until midnight. There will be a luncheon from noon to 4 p.m. and a coffee house operating throughout the day, including community performers, a collaborative art project and co-operative games, as well as conversations with local organizations. After the sun goes down, there will be a cabaret and dance throughout the night, featuring a headline performance by “local vocal diva” Jenna Smith - this part of the event is ticketed. The night’s host will be Mikuria Vandersnatsch, also known as The Countess de Huròn, who is Corvyn’s drag queen alter ego.

 

Walker-Bolton, who has done a lot of work organizing the event, says there will be something for everyone, with safe, family-friendly events in the early afternoon hours that will make way for some more grown-up entertainment as the day gives way to night.

 

Corvyn said that he hopes the event will serve two purposes. First, he hopes it will provide a safe space for everyone and be an entertaining day for those who choose to attend and that it will raise the profile of the organization and its mandate. Second, he hopes that it will also serve as a successful fundraiser for the organization, which, he admits, is a loose collection of like-minded individuals who don’t want to see hateful conduct in their home community of Huron County.

 

Corvyn, a Goderich native who just recently returned to the area, says he felt the need to mobilize and take action when he saw active racism and neo-Nazi ideologies making their way into Huron County life.

 

First, he said, there was the controversial “White Lives Matter” sign that has been covered by local news outlets such as CTV. It sits north of Goderich on Highway 21 and it has inspired council discussions and petitions signed by hundreds, but cannot officially be ordered to be taken down, as it is on private property. 

 

Second, he was motivated to action by a supposed neo-Nazi group meeting in Goderich earlier this year that has been documented by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, which said it drew members from Canada and the United States.

Corvyn then began seeing stickers along Goderich’s famed boardwalk advertising for The Great Lakes Active Club, which is said to be a Detroit-based neofascist group. He found a number of them along the lakefront and felt it was time to speak out and take action. 

 

He then created a petition and began asking local politicians and leaders to publicly denounce neo-Nazi ideology, which saw a lot of support as it made the rounds. 

 

Really, Corvyn said, it started when he began thinking that someone should be doing something to combat hate in his community when he stopped and thought that he was, indeed, someone and that perhaps he should be the one to stand up and fight back.

 

That’s when he started the petition and began assembling some like-minded friends in the area to create No Hate in Huron, which now has its placards all over Huron County in the windows of many offices, businesses, restaurants and other establishments all over the county.

 

The petition now has over 820 signatures and it still active on change.org. As for the event, it is ready to go and will feature music, games, authors and poets, art, dancing and much, much more.